Wednesday, November 04, 2026
Doing every bit of marketing yourself with no plan? Learn Donald Miller's StoryBrand method for making your customer the hero, not your business.
Lisa Campbell owns Woodhill Distribution Ltd, a New Zealand distribution business. She wanted to know whether her prices and freight costs were protecting her margin, and whether growth in New Zealand and Australia could be a plan rather than a hope. This case study shows what the coaching covered, what Lisa says changed, and what we do not claim.
A disclosure first: Simple-Growth publishes this page and Kevin D'Ambros-Smith coached this client, so read it as a case study, not a neutral review. Market: New Zealand. Last updated 4 November 2026.
Distributors sit between suppliers, freight and customers, so a small slip in any one of them quietly eats the margin. Lisa was making day-to-day decisions on pricing and freight without a clear picture of what each product and shipment really cost to deliver. Beyond that, she had no longer-term plan to lift her eyes from the daily work.
The pressure is not unusual. In the September 2026 NZIER Quarterly Survey of Business Opinion (reported by Westpac, survey run 9 to 28 September), firms' past-three-month average selling prices read +27 and next-three-month expectations +45, while the report notes cost pressures eased only a little. When prices and costs are both moving, owners who do not know their true delivered cost are guessing.
"Kevin helped me get a clearer picture of my pricing and freight costs, giving me more confidence in my decisions and a better understanding of how to protect my margins. He also helped me look beyond the day-to-day and build a five-year plan — making growth in New Zealand and Australia feel like a realistic, achievable goal. Alongside that, his guidance on improving my visibility in AI and search has helped me think more strategically about how customers find the business."
Lisa Campbell
Owner, Woodhill Distribution Ltd (quoted word for word)
This is a testimonial-led case study. We have not published revenue, margin or growth figures for Woodhill, so none are stated here and none should be implied. The outcome Lisa describes is confidence, clarity and a plan. Whether it lifts sales is something only her results over time will show.
It is probably not for you if you want someone to run the business for you, or you are not willing to look at your own numbers.
Yes. Coaching is chosen by mindset and ambition, not sector, across 30+ industries.
This page states no price. Eligible New Zealand businesses may be able to access co-funding through the Regional Business Partner Network, though funding is not guaranteed. See what NZ business coaches charge: https://www.simple-growth.com/growth-tips/how-much-does-a-business-coach-cost-in-nz-2026-price-guide
No. Every business starts from a different place, and this case study states only what the owner has said.
Want a clearer picture of your own pricing, freight and five-year plan? A 30-minute conversation is a good place to start.
Sources (checked 4 November 2026): Westpac IQ, NZ first impressions: NZIER QSBO September quarter 2026, 6 October 2026 (New Zealand, survey run 9 to 28 September). The testimonial is quoted word for word from the person named. Last updated 4 November 2026.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Gallup found 55 percent of US business owners have no real plan for their business beyond themselves. Here's the two-week test that reveals how dependent your business really is on you.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
LinkedIn's 2026 research found 40 percent of B2B deals end in "no decision," not a loss to a rival. Here's how to build urgency into your sales process so your pipeline stops dying in silence.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Organic reach on Instagram fell roughly 14 percent year on year in 2026, and every platform is heading the same way. Here's the channel SME owners already own that no algorithm can throttle.
Saturday, October 24, 2026
Up to 90 percent of strategies never get executed, and it's almost never the document's fault. Here's the team dysfunction actually behind it, and how to fix it before you rewrite the plan again.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Two-thirds of small business owners are raising prices in 2026. If you're in the third who won't, the real problem is probably your offer, not your price point.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Revenue was fine. Profitability growth wasn't, for the first time in a year and a half. Here's the one number to track through your own busy season so the same thing doesn't happen to you.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Just 25% of business owners have natural delegator talent. Here's the Clockwork test a good coach runs before any strategy conversation happens.
Friday, October 23, 2026
31.7% of small business owners have never taken a full week off. Here's the handover document that actually fixes it, and how AI turns a week of writing into an afternoon.
Friday, October 23, 2026
Four in ten small business owners say they discount often, and a third still report sales down anyway. Here's the SPIN Selling framework that gets you to full price without the price cut.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
When offers look alike, price is all that is left to compare. What New Zealand telecoms teach SME owners about escaping the price war.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Get more from the link that limits your growth before you spend a dollar on it. A 14-day, no-new-spend plan for SME owners.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Score eight links in your business from 1 to 5 and the weakest, earliest link is usually your constraint. A 20-minute self-check for SME owners.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Referrals just became small business owners' #1 source of new customers — up from 65% to 83% in a single year. Here's the Dream 100 system that turns word of mouth into a repeatable growth engine.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
Roughly one in four founders report loneliness and isolation running their business. Here's what a coach actually does differently, and why the first session is rarely about strategy.
Thursday, October 22, 2026
NZ small business sales rose 8.6 percent this quarter, but growth ranged from 2.9 to 16.3 percent by industry. Here's the three-number check that tells you whether your growth is actually yours.